Trichet: “Greek default must be avoided. In any form”

“Greek default in any form must be avoided”. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet explains the central bank's position on the Greek debt crisis in an interview published on Friday in the Times of London and specifies that the ECB will not take any decision on whether or not to involve the private sector as requested from Germany. In essence, the ball passes to the executive power which has to make a decision: “The ECB will act accordingly, on the basis of the decisions taken” observes Trichet. But the ECB's suggestion is equally clear: it is not advisable to oblige private individuals to intervene. "We're telling the political world that doing something that could create a credit event or a selective default or a default is not advisable," Trichet said.